Ezekiel 36

Also, thou son of man, prophesy unto the mountains of Israel, and say, Ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD:

You, human, speak to the hills of Israel, tell them, "Listen, hills of Israel, to the LORD's message."

Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because the enemy hath said against you, Aha, even the ancient high places are ours in possession:

The Lord God declares, "Because your enemies have taunted you, claiming even your sacred ancient lands as their own:

Therefore prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they have made you desolate, and swallowed you up on every side, that ye might be a possession unto the residue of the heathen, and ye are taken up in the lips of talkers, and are an infamy of the people:

So, speak out and say, "This is what the Lord GOD declares: Because they have left you in ruins and consumed you from all sides, making you a possession of the remaining non-believers. You've become the subject of gossip and a disgrace among the people."

Therefore, ye mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD; Thus saith the Lord GOD to the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, to the desolate wastes, and to the cities that are forsaken, which became a prey and derision to the residue of the heathen that are round about;

Listen, mountains of Israel, to the Lord's message: God speaks to the mountains, hills, rivers, valleys, barren lands, and abandoned cities, which have become the laughingstock and prey of the surrounding nations.

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Surely in the fire of my jealousy have I spoken against the residue of the heathen, and against all Idumea, which have appointed my land into their possession with the joy of all their heart, with despiteful minds, to cast it out for a prey.

Thus declares the Lord God, in my fierce jealousy, I have spoken against the remaining non-believers and all of Idumea, who have claimed my land as their own, joyfully and spitefully, intending to exploit it.

Prophesy therefore concerning the land of Israel, and say unto the mountains, and to the hills, to the rivers, and to the valleys, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I have spoken in my jealousy and in my fury, because ye have borne the shame of the heathen:

Speak about Israel's future, tell the mountains, hills, rivers, and valleys, "The Lord God declares, 'I've spoken out of jealousy and anger, for you've endured the disgrace of others.'"

Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD; I have lifted up mine hand, Surely the heathen that are about you, they shall bear their shame.

Thus declares the Lord God with conviction; I have raised my hand in solemn vow. Rest assured, those who don't believe and surround you, will indeed carry their own disgrace.

But ye, O mountains of Israel, ye shall shoot forth your branches, and yield your fruit to my people of Israel; for they are at hand to come.

Hey, majestic mountains of Israel, it's time to bloom and bear fruit for my beloved people of Israel. They are almost here.

For, behold, I am for you, and I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown:

Look, I am with you, I will come to you, and you will flourish and grow.

And I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, even all of it: and the cities shall be inhabited, and the wastes shall be builded:

I promise to bless you with abundant growth, filling every corner of Israel with people. Your cities will thrive, and even the desolate places will be rebuilt.

And I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bring fruit: and I will settle you after your old estates, and will do better unto you than at your beginnings: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

I will bless you with abundant life, both human and animal. They will grow and flourish. I will restore your past glory, and even surpass it. You will realize that I am your God, who provides and cares for you.

Yea, I will cause men to walk upon you, even my people Israel; and they shall possess thee, and thou shalt be their inheritance, and thou shalt no more henceforth bereave them of men.

Indeed, I will guide people to tread upon you, my chosen ones, Israel. They will claim you as their own, you will become their legacy. From now on, you will no longer deprive them of their kin.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; Because they say unto you, Thou land devourest up men, and hast bereaved thy nations:

The Lord God declares, "Because people accuse you, saying 'You, land, consume people and leave nations mourning':

Therefore thou shalt devour men no more, neither bereave thy nations any more, saith the Lord GOD.

God promises, "You will no longer consume people or cause sorrow to your nations."

Neither will I cause men to hear in thee the shame of the heathen any more, neither shalt thou bear the reproach of the people any more, neither shalt thou cause thy nations to fall any more, saith the Lord GOD.

God promises, "I won't let you hear the insults of outsiders anymore, nor will you carry the burden of their scorn. You won't bring your people down again," declares the Lord.

Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

Then, I felt a powerful message from the Lord wash over me, saying,

Son of man, when the house of Israel dwelt in their own land, they defiled it by their own way and by their doings: their way was before me as the uncleanness of a removed woman.

When the people of Israel lived in their homeland, they tainted it with their actions and behaviors. To me, their conduct was as unclean as a woman during her monthly impurity.

Wherefore I poured my fury upon them for the blood that they had shed upon the land, and for their idols wherewith they had polluted it:

I unleashed my anger on them because they stained the land with blood and defiled it with their idols.

And I scattered them among the heathen, and they were dispersed through the countries: according to their way and according to their doings I judged them.

I dispersed them among different nations, their actions guided their fate. Their deeds determined their destiny, and I judged them accordingly.

And when they entered unto the heathen, whither they went, they profaned my holy name, when they said to them, These are the people of the LORD, and are gone forth out of his land.

Wherever they went among the nations, they brought my sacred name into disrespect, for people said of them, "These are the Lord's people, yet they had to leave his land."

But I had pity for mine holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the heathen, whither they went.

I felt deeply saddened because my sacred name was disrespected by the people of Israel, wherever they traveled among those who didn't believe.

Therefore say unto the house of Israel, thus saith the Lord GOD; I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, but for mine holy name’s sake, which ye have profaned among the heathen, whither ye went.

Tell the people of Israel, God says, "I'm not doing this for you, Israel, but for the honor of my sacred name, which you've disrespected among the nations where you've gone."

And I will sanctify my great name, which was profaned among the heathen, which ye have profaned in the midst of them; and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, saith the Lord GOD, when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes.

I will cleanse my revered name that has been disrespected among the non-believers. You have disrespected it too. But they will realize that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when they see my holiness reflected in you.

For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

I will rescue you from foreign lands, unite you from all corners of the world, and guide you back home.

Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you.

I will shower you with pure water, washing away all your impurities and false idols, leaving you cleansed and renewed.

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

I'll gift you a fresh heart, fill you with a renewed spirit. I'll remove your hardened heart, replacing it with one that's soft and alive.

And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.

I will fill you with my spirit, guiding you to follow my rules. You will understand and live by my decisions.

And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.

You'll live in the land I promised your ancestors; you'll be my cherished ones, and I'll be your loving God.

I will also save you from all your uncleannesses: and I will call for the corn, and will increase it, and lay no famine upon you.

I will rescue you from all impurities, summon abundant harvests for you, and ensure you never experience hunger.

And I will multiply the fruit of the tree, and the increase of the field, that ye shall receive no more reproach of famine among the heathen.

I will bless your trees with abundant fruit and your fields with bountiful harvests, so you'll never again suffer the shame of hunger in the eyes of others.

Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall lothe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations.

Then you'll remember your evil ways and your actions that weren't good, and you'll loathe yourselves for your sins and the detestable things you've done.

Not for your sakes do I this, saith the Lord GOD, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O house of Israel.

God says, "I'm not doing this for you, but for my own reasons. Be ashamed and disgraced by your actions, people of Israel."

Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from all your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded.

The Lord promises, "When I've washed away all your wrongs, I'll bring you home to thriving cities, transforming ruins into homes."

And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by.

The barren land, once ignored by all, will flourish again with life and growth.

And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited.

They'll exclaim, "This barren land now blooms like Eden's garden! The once ruined cities, now protected and full of life."

Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it.

The remaining non-believers around you will realize that I, the Lord, restore what's broken and revive what's barren. I, the Lord, have promised this and I will fulfill it.

Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock.

The Lord God declares, "Even in this, the people of Israel will seek me. I will answer them; I will bless them with abundant growth, multiplying them like a thriving flock."

As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.

Just like a sacred gathering of sheep, or the crowds in Jerusalem during her grand celebrations, so too will the abandoned cities be filled with people. And they will realize, I am their God.